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Abstract
Rural areas can no longer be equated with agricultural areas. Despite a high share of farm and forest land and the agricultural focus of Austrian rural policy, the development of rural areas is increasingly shaped by non-agricultural forces. With regard to Austrian circumstances, this paper identifies five types of rural areas based on criteria of location and regional economy. In a holistic perspective, pathways of regional development for those types of rural areas are pointed out. Agriculture will only be able to stand its ground if the farmers succeed in adapting their services to the challenges specific to the particular type of rural area. Against the background of trends such as the increasing importance of renewable natural resources, the higher political significance of climate protection and the re-regionalization of the economy, subsequent chances for agriculture for each of the five types of rural areas are presented. The authors arrive at the conclusion that a topically integrative but spatially specific approach to reposition agricultural production proves to be more appropriate than common policies pursuing thematically sectoral access and arguing for the rural area as a whole.
